April in the Amazon

What does an early morning photo of a coffee and luggage in a south American airport have to do with watch straps?  

My briefcase, made from saddle leather, is 25 years old and still almost perfect.  Great for bags and saddles, it requires some innovative engineering to be suitable for a comfortable watch strap.  Equally old, equally well used and not sitting on the table as I do have a modicum of common sense, is my wallet.  This is made from Teju, which is almost as tough and has a lovely pattern.  Saddle leather, teju, crocodile and hand-made construction are not cheap and so the Field Engineer price will rise ('only the very best, regardless of cost' can be expensive), but in due course a new standard fit strap will be made from English saddle leather with a Teju or crocodile outer layer, and since the vast majority of Teju comes from controlled and managed programmes in south America I thought I’d take a look whist I’m here.  Teju meat is very nice (texture of chicken and tastes of whatever it's been seasoned with) and goes well with the brilliant fish that features in any resturant near a river.

Quite possibly the only subsea engineer on the amazon, limping slightly because according to the surgeon that bolted them back together, ‘the left one stings a bit because it’s still broken’.  

April’s strap testing continues with a few days in North Africa.  Less humidity, drier and dustier environment, lamb and couscous on the menu.

A find from an old project

Digging out cold weather gear I came across a boiler suit with a good trident logo from a old project. Nomex and arctic rated, so perfect, even if it does advertise 'oil industry' on a 'renewables' offshore project.

Trident logo boiler suit

2017 News Archive

From serial number 100, the deployment clasp uses the same butterfly mechanism as the metal bracelet.  The travel case has also changed to a roll style so it doesn't compress the strap.  The travel case is still leather of course and has room for two watches.

2016 News Archive

The earliest chronographs are out of their 2 year no quibble guarantee, but I'm quite happy to fix anything on them and will certainly do it for free if it's due to a fault in the watch. Whilst I initially thought polar bears, desert sand and boardroom bust ups might be the cause of most damage, it appears sinks and bathroom floors are, so be careful when cleaning your teeth.

2015 News Archive

The Field Engineer is now made to the new OO-specification.  Modifications from the original O-series Field Engineer are quite extensive and all in the movement and aesthetics. These include include the unique 'double O' day and date indicators, a full set of revised hands slightly different in size and shape, different tube alloys, C3 superluminova added to hour markers, small changes in the chapter ring and dial layer sizes and layout, and numerous other very small tweeks that pull everything more tightly to the Fibonacci sequence.

All existing Field Engineer Chronographs can be upgraded to the double O specification

2014 News Archive

I know it's a little random for a watch company to sponsor a performing arts group, but they're based in Brentford, West London, and what they do is a really excellent example of 'taking the lead to change your own future'. www.alliancedanceunit.co.uk 


Prototyping for the Double O version of the Field Engineer


Official timer for the Neptune race to the equator


50 international rugby caps for Jim Hamilton


Because there's more to life, a number of Field Engineer chronographs have been specially built and auctioned to raise funds for the Mama Muxima orphanage in Lunada, Angolan.